Day 247

Croton Fountain

September 2nd, 2012

This plaque lies on a 100-foot-diameter stone ring marking the former location of the spectacular Croton Fountain, built in 1842 and fed by water from the monumental Croton Aqueduct. The aqueduct, as we learned back in July, was an extraordinary feat of engineering and a tremendous boon to the water-deprived city; it opened to great fanfare here at City Hall Park, and even had an official ode written for it ("Croton’s waves in all their glory / Troop in melody along"). In 1871, the fountain was replaced by the smaller (though quite ornate) one you see in the background (which itself was removed from the park in 1920 before making a return, complete with gas-burning lamps, after renovations in 1999).

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I'm walking every street in New York City.

This is the counterpoint to my walk across the US. Instead of seeing a million places for just a minute each, I'm going to spend a million minutes exploring just one place. By the time I finish walking every block of every street in all five boroughs, I'll have traveled more than 8000 miles on foot — all within a single city. Details!

Your donations allow me to keep walking full-time. If you think what I'm doing is valuable and you'd like to offer some support, I would be very grateful. On the other hand, if you think I'm a worthless bum, feel free to email me and tell me to get a job, bozo. Both are excellent options!